Thinking of You
by LadyDi
Summary: Marinette. How did he find the right words to begin to describe her? He felt like she was so many things; like she showed so many things. Right now she was animatedly trying to find the right words to put together in a coherent sentence to him. Her eyes were happy and her smile was ready to split her face in two. Her apparent shyness seemed so different from that day...
1. Marinette Dupain-Cheng

She realized that she was staring at the back of his head too much and that the teacher probably noticed long ago, but had yet to say a word to her about the lack of attention she should have been paying to her note-taking. She couldn't help it whenever he arrived; she lost control of herself against part of her better judgment.

It was so hard on days that Adrien was absent from class. It was quite the large pit whenever he had something to do that took him out of school and she missed him. Oh, how she missed him...even if it cost her the ability to speak when he was around. The space he took up with his presence and his physical form was always more obvious whenever there was a lack of it in class all day. Her mood never failed to drop a few degrees, usually hid to everyone but her good friend Alya. Thankfully, her good friend only smiled that knowing smile and kept silent about the glitch to her personality.

Whenever he strode through that door or she saw him get out of his expensive car and head up the steps, the pep to her morning returned with vigor and then some. The smile that inevitably burst forth from her rendered her quite the fool at the mere sight of catching that gorgeous, perfect hair in the light. Even now, she was transfixed with that swath of gold from below her seat. She was content to stare at it as it moved whenever he looked down to his notes and then back up to the teacher. Oh how she wanted to run her fingers through it to see if it felt as soft as looked!

She gave the quietest of happy sighs that she dared let escape in the middle of a lecture. She knew the only one who would hear was Alya and the only thing Alya would do was probably take extra notes for her due to her ever-present 'condition' of being a love-struck fool. She knew this would happen sure as she knew her friend would also be as happy for her as possible.

What would she do without Alya around to help her whenever her friend felt like sticking her nose into business that was hers alone? She would be a lot shyer and totally less able to speak to Adrien many times! The strength of Alya was enough to drive her on and many times she didn't want to give in to herself for the sake of how much her friend tried to do for her.

She passed away most of the class barely paying attention to anything her teacher said. She wanted to feel bad, really she did, but it was only more amazing to her mood when class ended and Adrien shifted in his seat to talk to Nino...and her table. Her brain melted into its usual puddle of incoherent letters and syllables, face burning hotter than the sun in her shame to be unable to talk to such a great person that sat in front of her.

So many times she wanted to run away amidst this horrible, pathetic attempt to be herself around him! It was just easier to look at him from afar and see his pictures in her room. The few times she spoke to his pictures seemed less crazy than attempting conversation with the real thing mere feet away from her.

It was such a dichotomy in the beginning. She could very clearly remember how he abruptly showed up and she had absolutely no idea who he was. She wanted to laugh out loud, even now with him sitting and talking to Nino and Alya, at how she used to think he was a horrible person merely because she assumed before asking questions. She would forever cringe at that time when she accused him of being the one to put gum on her chair and always smile at his honesty in trying to tell her the truth.

She stared at his sideways profile as he spoke with Nino. She avidly drank in his smile as he talked about something she was in no way listening to. She would forever call herself a fool for almost dismissing one of the brightest and most wonderful people she could ever call friend...and someone who would always occupy her heart.

She thought back to his words on that rainy day and a chunk of her heart cried at them. This was the first time he was able to do something like this when she always had that availability. He had no friends, he had said. She wanted to cry at such words and find every way in her power to make it up to him every moment of every day. She tried, honestly she did, but Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a fool in front of the all-mighty Adrien Agreste...

"Right Marinette?"

She jolted and whipped to the back of her seat as if someone had waved fire in her face. "Huh?!" She blinked wide eyes, heart racing with Adrien's friendly eyes looking at her somewhat expectantly for an answer she had no idea about because she never heard the question. "I – I – what were we talking about?! I – I nothing...heard...what?"

She pinned panicked eyes to her savior who only smiled and waved the boys off nonchalantly. "Don't worry guys. Marinette is just overly worried about the last class she conveniently missed out on."

The pair looked to the very coy smile Alya adopted as she stared across the table. She mentally screamed her friend's name in her head, cringing that Alya would sell her out, even though she knew exactly what the reason was about. It was all in an attempt to help her, she knew this, but it made things no less embarrassing!

The two below looked at each other in confusion. "But she was here all of class." Nino broke in, brows furrowed.

She gave a very tense smile through gritted teeth when Adrien looked at her again. She barely heard his words and cut off any questions with a nervous giggle, hand trying to wave him off. "Ah...hahaha...yea...I was thinking about...something...um...major...I mean – I – I...no...I was -"

Alya chuckled knowingly and patted her shoulder lightly. "We all know you have a lot on your mind, Miss Space-Cadet." Alya's eyes glinted.

She pouted at Alya, looking to her desk. Her face felt as hot as the sun and all the mental ordering for it to turn back to its normal pink hue went ignored. "Excuse me." In a second, she stood and headed to the doorway. "I'll be back in a minute." She didn't wait for anyone to ask questions or try to talk her out of leaving what she felt was a tense situation.

She headed for the bathroom with the intent of making it look like she needed to use it when she really just wanted some time alone to regain her wits. The place was empty and she headed to one of the stalls and quietly clicked the lock in place. She leaned against the wall with a sigh and looked to the ceiling briefly. After a minute of silence, she reached into a pocket and grabbed her ever-present cell phone. She pressed a few buttons till she got to the picture of Adrien that she kept. She stared at it, brows furrowing upward a little, mouth tilting to a hint of a smile.

Why was it so hard to be so near to him and have him talk to her like a normal person, and why couldn't she reciprocate in kind? It was so glorious to feel so much toward him as she always did, but it was also so frustrating to be locked and chained under the overbearing emotions of her own heart!

Her gaze softened as she stared into those emerald eyes of his and the smile he gave when Alya took a picture of him for her. Would he ever know? That day in the rain...she would kick herself if she ever forgot that moment.

" _I_ _never_ _went_ _to_ _school_ _before..._ _I_ _never_ _had_ _any_ _friends..._ _All_ _this_ _is_ _pretty_ _new_ _to_ _me..."_

And then he faced her and handed over his umbrella with that look. That soft, honest look that felt a little hollow in his eyes where that small smile never reached. His car was just down at the bottom of the steps and he wouldn't get as drenched as she would have, but he was still offering to take damage from the rain on his expensive clothes so she wouldn't get soaked before reaching even the short distance home. Some of the hate crumbled into tiny pieces in that moment and her hand had reached out on its own toward that peace offering. Her heart also reached out with a need as those poor meanings sunk in and she found she couldn't turn him away. She took the umbrella from him, but it only served to a testament of how horrible, or good, her luck was when it closed on her.

Oh that first laugh. She wanted to be embarrassed at herself, but hearing his beautiful voice break the tension of that dreary afternoon made her join alongside him. She wanted to let him continue, but he seemed to remember the situation and reigned in his amusement. When he spoke of reuniting in class the next day and walked away, a piece of her floated alongside him as she watched him descend the steps.

She gave a happy sigh as she remembered every minute detail. She clutched the phone to her chest and righted herself from the bathroom wall. She was grateful to be apart of his life in any way she could...a stumbling idiot or not. He found worth in her somehow, what she was still too embarrassed to ask about, and it made her smile to think that. If, somehow in the near future, she would ever be able to be as nonchalant as her friend could to him, nothing would make her more relieved and ecstatic. She only hoped that for now, he could be content with her stuttering and inability to get past her own emotions in his presence.

Did he know? Could he ever see the emotions in her eyes whenever they looked at each other? Did he ever feel as silly around her as she felt around him? Smart, handsome, charming, rich, famous, shy, awkward Adrien Agreste. She looked to the picture of him on her phone again and smiled softly.

"Marinette? Are you in here?"

She jolted at the worry which echoed off the high walls and quickly put her phone away. She opened the door to find her friend in the main exit to the girl's room. She took note of the slight quickness of breath and concern in her friend's features. She headed straight for Alya and smiled. "Ah...haha...was I too long? Sorry. I lost track of time thinking about something again."

Alya's lips scrunched up, but there was visible relief there. "The next class has already started and you would've been counted absent if I didn't tell the teacher I would check the bathroom for you!" A hand went against her hip. "Are you still thinking about something concerning Adrien?" A finger tapped against her forehead. "You need to focus on school sometime, you know!"

She gave a sheepish smile and waved her friend off. She had never told Alya of that afternoon because it was a cherished memory she never wanted anyone else to know. It was something between the two of them and she always wanted to keep it that way. "I know. I know. I'll wait till lunch to let Adrien occupy my head." She joked.

"Who is currently offering to help search for you, you know."

Her shoulders scrunched up to her ears in panic at the thought of making him look for her when she left in the first place. "I don't want him to miss any class because of me!" She quickly exited the bathroom and looked to her friend. "Where was he last?"

"He went to check the lockers and I told him I'd check here."

She headed off without letting her friend get in another syllable and found him coming around from the farthest row. Their eyes met and she could see visible relief mixed in with a tinge of worry and possible guilt as he headed her way. "There you are."

She gave a bashful laugh and looked to the floor. She could already feel her face heat up as he closed the distance. "Ah...I was...um...just..taking a moment? Sorry if I made trouble for anyone..."

"Nothing is wrong then?"

She looked to him in shock at the obvious concern in his words. She searched his eyes, his brows, the tilt of his head. What did he see in her to be so kind and considerate? It was on the tip of her tongue, as it often was, to ask why he would choose silly Marinette out of all his other classmates. Even if he was friends with the others, he didn't spend half the amount of time with them as he did with her and Nino and Alya. Nino she could see and even Alya who was outward enough to strike up a conversation...but her? It made her heart ache and the desire to hug him close excruciatingly strong. She would never be so bold as to do such a thing in real life though.

She pasted on a hasty smile and waved both hands between them as if to shake off his troubles. "No! Nothing! Not wrong! Nope...never!" She felt stupid to be unable to speak, but the smile he gave at her reassurances made the stuttering worth it. It would always be worth it if she could make him smile. "We should...should get back t – to class!"

His smile grew a little more and he nodded. He initially let her and Alya take the lead, but he found a way to wind around her friend and walk side-by-side with her down most of the hallway till they got back to the classroom. Alya's pace didn't slow down on purpose right? She wouldn't put it past her good friend to attempt such a subtle motive as getting Adrien to walk next to her.

Again, he let them go first into the classroom by holding the door for them and sat down after they did. Her heart squealed and she gave him a true smile for his consideration. Another memory to tuck away to revel in later. Even if she often felt that she caused him trouble, good things always seemed to come from it in the end and gave her something positive from the whole thing.


	2. Adrien Agrestes

It was always a good thing when the afternoon was sunny. The air was crisper, the sky a little more beautiful to look at, and the sun warm on his back. It made waiting for his ride a little more bearable. Not that he was adverse to hanging around school after it ended. Anything to keep from going home to that silent fortress of quiet. Not when there was so much laughter and conversation and fun to be had at school. Nino offered to wait for him, but they had a test coming up soon and he didn't want his friend wasting such time...even though he would have greatly enjoyed the company.

He was probably the only student out of the entire building to looked forward to coming to such a place. He knew that if he ever spoke of his sheer happiness to walk up those stone steps into the main entrance, he would get strange looks and lots of head shaking. He didn't blame them though; no one really knew what it was like for him and how perverse the situation was. He knew it well, though he didn't want to understand it most times.

It felt so utterly normal to watch the mass amount of kids shuffle down those steps to the ground level below and head home on foot. They had to take their own responsibility to get home using one foot in front of the other. Not like him. Never like him. Even when he tried to be like other kids, he was always reminded that his place in life was different. Higher due to others; never because of his own wish. Oh he had tried a few times in the beginning and a handful of them had been successful, but most of them were utter failures that got his ears a good talking to. He gave up attempting such things most times.

He gave a quiet sigh and rested back on his hands on the warm stone slab he was sitting on. One foot idly kicked against the brick wall as he looked to the sky, ears poised to listen to the chatter of his fellow classmates. His eyes closed with the hint of a smile and for a second, he almost felt like a normal middle school boy who merely didn't want to go home yet. He almost, almost didn't feel like the son of a rich and famous designer who was waiting for his ride to pick him up and whisk him off to whatever afternoon practice he had yet to accomplish before going home to his expansive room and his homework.

Time thankfully slowed for him in this instant and he relished it as much as possible. He had long ago learned to try and find happiness in the little things in life because not being able to do so would only render him broken to life in general. He was well aware that with the strangeness and coldness of his home life that he could have ended up different. Cold. Silent. Harsh to those he called friend. He could have let himself fall into the despair of his parents and their own problems, but he persevered. He felt he was much stronger because of it and thankfully so.

The sound of a car stopping dangerously close broke into his reverie and the corners of his mouth slipped just a little. It was time to go. There was always only one car that would stop at the bottom of the middle school...aside from Chloe's that was. He took a deep breath and quickly exhaled. Time to go; life as model Adrien Agreste awaited him. He reached down and went for the strap on his backpack laying on the concrete when an odd thought struck him.

 _His_ _hand_ _extended_ _and_ _let_ _go_ _as_ _hers_ _extended_ _and_ _grabbed_ _hold_ _of_ _the_ _handle._

He blinked and stared at the length of his open digits barely cradling the strap. A smile erupted from his face as he stood and idly brushed off his pants. He shouldered the bag and looked down to the car below awaiting his arrival. He looked to the now empty main entrance and saw in his mind's eye himself on a rainy day, speaking words that he had feared would be turned away.

He couldn't believe, in his haste and utter glee, that he had forgotten such an important time in his life. Not only had he been allowed to attend this school per his father's words, but he had made his first, real female friend that same day. How could he forget? He had never been so happy to speak the words he did to Plagg about Marinette being his friend. Had Nino not extended his hand first, Marinette would have beat Nino to carve out the spot in his memories as his very first friend. Chloe didn't count. That kind of relationship with her wasn't friendship. After being with the others, he knew that now...even if his history with Chloe kept him from turning her away entirely.

He hopped off the small rise to the stairs and slowly walked to where he had stood, where their eyes met mere feet away from each other. His lips threatened to show his perfect smile as he remembered how his umbrella had defaulted and closed on her. His insides quivered with the same laugh that demanded to be let out again, but he held it in, just like he had tried to do that day.

Sometimes he didn't know how his friends put up with his daily life. His odd absences from class, his needing their notes when he missed being able to take them, constant questions about what they went over in school, and the general queries about what happened that day. He felt like he asked too much of them at times, but none of them ever seemed to shy away...even when they saw the grandness of his home. None of them let his fame get the better of them and he was even more loyal to them all because of it.

He thought of each one of them in turn. Nino...his talented dj friend who never balked when he went on tv against the mayor. Nino had won and in good graces. He would forever be happy that he was there to witness such a thing. He was no stranger to the social pressures of the camera and he was proud that Nino took it all in stride.

Then there was fiery Alya. She was outspoken in a good way; so much different than he had ever known through Chloe. He was glad to have met Alya. She was smart and clever in so many ways. Her becoming more than friends with Nino only made him happy for the two of them. He thought that they complimented each other in so many ways.

Then there was...

"Adrien? What are you still doing here?"

He shook himself from his thoughts and blinked at the female pair stopping in front of him. Alya and the last object of his thoughts were both looking at him...although one was red as a tomato.

Marinette. How did he find the right words to begin to describe her? He felt like she was so many things; like she showed so many things. Right now she was animatedly trying to find the right words to put together in a coherent sentence to him. Her eyes were happy and her smile was ready to split her face in two. Her apparent shyness seemed so different from that day which had suddenly enveloped him.

" _Hey,_ _what_ _the_ _heck_ _are_ _you_ _doing?"_

The amount of fire in her voice, in her eyes, had him backing up and fumbling to find words to defend himself. She had never given him the chance to explain the entire situation and his clumsiness had gotten the better of him. He was weak under the glare in her eyes and crumbled under the cold shoulder she presented him.

But now...after that day...

How could he have forgotten the chill of the rain that pelted his shirt and landed in his hair when he handed over the umbrella he didn't really need for that short walk? How did he manage to let escape the barest touch of their fingers when he passed it over and she thankfully took it from him? He would never forget the moment of relief that washed over him.

A hand idly scratched the back of his head, a smile easily coming to him. "Me? I was just waiting for my ride to show up. Sometimes Natalie can't make it before school lets out."

Alya hummed in some form of amusement. "Heh? Seems odd. I almost thought you were perhaps waiting for us..."

He watched her glasses shift to Marinette who broke into even more fumbling, if that was possible. She all but refused to look at him and he wondered if trying to make eye contact with her was beyond her ability right now.

His gaze returned to Alya. "What are you two doing here? Isn't everyone gone by now?"

Alya's lips thinned into a knowing, almost sly smile as her arms loosely crossed. "We were...held up by someone knocking over the contents of her lock -"

Petite hands encompassed the rest of Alya's sentence as they all but wrapped around Alya's face. The sudden act happened with such a speed that his brow went up. He watched a new transformation come out as Marinette pointedly looked to Alya with wide, shifty eyes that swung back and forth between him and Alya. His amusement surfaced as she purposely and clearly spoke of how such a thing didn't happen and tried to negate its very existence to him.

She would never cease to be so many things. She was so open about herself and her actions...did she even know this? It was fun to see so many emotions cross her face, whether they were good or bad. He had always had such bad experiences with trying to show his feelings to the adults around him, especially his father. Thus, probably the best, most alive times were always around Marinette. She was so animated and he always wondered what would happen next if he spent time around her.

"Care to walk with me to my ride?" His thumb jerked below them, half a wry smile forming. "I think someone is finally going to get out of there and come up to me if I don't move soon."

"We – we...you...and...ride -"

"We'd love to." Alya translated as she plopped a hand on Marinette's shoulder. He watched her nod, wide smile on her face, and a hand loosely grasped the bag strap again.

He fell in step with both girls surrounding him. Both friends on either side of him for even a brief period. He took in the feeling of warmth that enveloped him, hoping every step would slow till eternity and they never reach the bottom. He half listened to whatever random thing Alya was poking fun at Marinette for and concentrated on just being here with them in these seconds. All too soon, they'd reach the bottom and he'd be separated from them, despite having their phone numbers, for the rest of the day.

He paused in front of the car and turned with a smile. "Thanks. See you two tomorrow."

He nodded to Marinette and she began a long line of stuttering about tomorrow and school and himself as she boisterously waved his exit. He waved to Alya at her promise to see him the next day and opened the door.

The silence of the near soundproof vehicle was broken only by Natalie reprimanding him for taking so long and how late he was going to be to his next appointment. He didn't even bother looking her way or apologizing in this second; his gaze was still on his two friends.

" _I_ _never_ _had_ _any_ _friends..."_

Those days were behind him now. He knew this and every time he recalled such disheartening words, a strong feeling of warmth enveloped him as he realized he wasn't alone anymore. Nino. Alya. Marinette. Such bright and happy people who were all caring in their own way with their own personalities. He knew they wouldn't leave him alone unlike how his family situation had splintered and broken apart as it had. They would continue to be there for him through thick and thin and he would do anything in his very limited power to reciprocate in kind.


End file.
